Berkeley defies stereotype to rout San Ramon

Merv Harris, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, January 30, 1999

BERKELEY - Just as expected, the battle for first place in the East Bay Athletic League boys basketball race matched a precise, confident and crafty team against one that rushed its shots, played out of control at times and made fundamental mistakes.

What was unexpected was a reversal of anticipated roles Friday night as Berkeley High, No. 7 in The Examiner's Prep Top 25, crushed No. 15 San Ramon Valley of Danville, 61-37.

The victory gave Berkeley a 13-5 overall record and a 6-0 EBAL record while San Ramon fell to 13-4 (5-1).

"We're not a helter-skelter team," said Berkeley coach Stelton Mitchell with obvious satisfaction. "We do what we do best - we block out on the boards, get the quick outlet pass and fill the (fast-break) lanes. We do a lot of things that people don't give us credit for."

The stereotype of Berkeley, essentially an inner-city school, playing with reckless abandon against bigger and more methodical opponents grew partly because the YellowJackets play in the same league as San Ramon, Amador Valley, Monte Vista, California, Foothill, Granada and Livermore, schools of the I-680 and I-580 corridor suburbs.

Mitchell's team spoils the easy characterizations by playing intelligent basketball, using its quickness to be sure, but in a well-planned way.

San Ramon, in contrast, often rushed down the floor and took the first available shot. The team did not wait for 6-foot-10 Chris Wiedemann to establish low post position so he could turn toward the basket for field goals, exploiting his height advantage over Berkeley's 6-4 William Watkins. Only once did San Ramon execute that scenario, and that one time Wiedemann missed his shot. He finished with just four points. As a team, the Wolves managed just 16 field goals in 40 attempts and had 19 turnovers.

Berkeley, 26-for-56 with just 12 turnovers, brought the ball down the floor even more rapidly, most of the time, than San Ramon, but worked its offense while Watkins established position, his back to the basket and Wiedemann hulking over him. Watkins and his backup, Nathan Dahl, scored just eight and two points, respectively, but they were key points as Berkeley maintained a 10-to-12-point lead most of the night, then delivered a coup de gra^ce by outscoring San Ramon the final period, 17-3.

"When we get Watkins down on the block, he has a big body - they can't push him out and he just makes a quick spin to the basket," Mitchell said.

"I knew if we kept a body on the big man (Wiedemann) and wouldn't let him just flash across the key, we would neutralize him," the coach continued. "Once the ball went up, we would block him out, get the rebound and start our fast break."

San Ramon coach John Raynor had no arguments with Mitchell's analysis.

"They just overwhelmed us in every position," he admitted. "Because of their quickness, we were unable to counter it. They dictated the tempo with their defense. They're a heck of a team."

*El Cerrito 65, De La Salle (Minneapolis) 53: Jovan Harris led the way with 28 points as the East Bay team (17-2) successfully opened a two-game visit to the Target Center in Minneapolis.